


A Million Shadows [6/10]

by balthesar



Series: A Million Shadows [6]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-02
Updated: 2011-09-02
Packaged: 2017-10-23 09:03:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/248582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/balthesar/pseuds/balthesar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'No truth serum, then? No bright lights in my eyes? No demanding to know where I was on some random date?' Mary teased. 'No bondage?'</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Million Shadows [6/10]

"Don't worry," Toshiko reassured Mary as they got out of Toshiko's sensible goldish-beige sedan. Toshiko couldn't help but fret, and it seemed more reasonable that only one of them should be completely nervous. Jack had seemed calm on the phone, more pleased than irritated that she'd done her own research before presenting the new tech to the team, but how would Jack react if Mary weren't as solid a source as he'd hoped?

Nothing was going to go wrong, Toshiko kept reminding herself. God, it was finally her turn to prove that she could be valuable in the field, not just in front of a computer! She tried to shake off her anxiety, somewhat successfully, and led Mary towards the 'Historic Cardiff Walking Tours' office.

Mary readjusted her top and tucked her handbag under her arm; she hadn't bothered to go back to her flat before coming to Torchwood, so she'd just showered at Tosh's and borrowed a shirt. It was a little more elegant and early-thirty-something than Mary usually opted for, but Tosh had insisted that the caramel colour and three-quarter sleeves looked nice on her. Mary felt a bit like when she cleaned up to visit her mum, but she'd kept the leather trousers for a bit of edge.

"I'm not," Mary replied, sipping her espresso and following her across the Plass. They'd stopped at Starbucks on the way for an initial shot of caffeine; they'd been delighted to find they both liked their espresso straight-up, two shots. "I mean, your boss isn't crazy, right?"

"... No, of course not."

***

Standing in the lift, sinking into the Hub, Mary took the opportunity to corner Toshiko and give her a kiss. Toshiko leaned into it, grateful for the distraction.

"This will be pretty simple, I think," Toshiko said when their lips parted. Her hand stayed on Mary's hip; Mary stayed close. "Establish identity, confirm where you found the artifact, record your knowledge of it."

"No truth serum, then? No bright lights in my eyes? No demanding to know where I was on some random date?" Mary teased. "No bondage?"

" _Probably_ not," Toshiko replied wryly as the doors slid open.

***

Jack had come out of his office as soon as Ianto had buzzed down, to see Toshiko's new girlfriend-slash-informant. He'd agreed to the interview as much to evaluate the woman and her effect on Tosh as any information she could possibly give. People who'd found alien tech generally fell into two categories: hopelessly uninformed and dangerous. He really hoped that the girlfriend wasn't the latter, because Tosh seemed to be having fun and Jack didn't like having to ruin someone's good day. He considered warning the rest of the team to behave, but what a waste of effort that would be.

"Bet she's got a chain wallet and a crew cut," Owen snickered.

Gwen made a scoffing noise. " _Please._ Tosh has better taste than that. I'm sure she's lovely."

"Combat boots," Owen continued. "Doesn't shave..." Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Shut up," Jack explained, as the lift doors slid open. Toshiko and a strutting blonde emerged; instinct had him reaching for his gun before he recognized her. "Bristow? What the fuck are you doing here?" he called out loudly. An edge of warning, of dismay, of confusion coloured his voice.

Mary stopped mid-sentence, looking up as soon as Jack spoke. "Harkness?"

Jack was already clattering down the metal-grating staircase, his hand still hovering over his gun. Toshiko frowned deeply, stepping forward. "What the hell, Jack?"

Gwen quietly ran over to the railing to watch, Owen on her heels. Mary stepped around Toshiko, walking towards Jack with unadulterated surprise on her face. Jack snapped open the leather casing to his pistol.

"So they sent you to finally bring me back?" he asked cautiously, anger creeping into his voice. Owen and Gwen glanced at each other, eyebrows raised. Ianto silently appeared in the doorway to the kitchenette, carafe in hand.

Mary snorted. "I wish. Bet they wouldn't have left me here. But you're old news."

Jack's hand relaxed a little. "'Left you here'?"

"C'mon, Harkness," Mary replied with a half-smile. "You know how they treat non-essential assets."

 _Assets?_ Gwen mouthed to Owen. He shrugged, his brow furrowed.

Jack let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "We'll talk in my office. Ianto, coffee?" Ianto nodded; Jack had an uncanny ability to know when he was around even when he was lurking. "You still like it black, right?" Jack asked Mary.

"And hot as hell," she replied with a grin.

***

Productivity dropped sharply as the three left in the Hub pretended to work while surreptitiously glancing towards Jack's office and trying to eavesdrop. Owen chewed on his pen, looking from his screen to the closed glass doors for the millionth time.

He spun around in his chair and addressed the women. "So, Tosh, since when've _you_ been a dyke?" Gwen gave him a scathing look; Toshiko just rolled her eyes.

"Owen," Gwen scolded him.

He smirked a little. "You're hot when you're angry." Gwen threw a pen at him. "Anyway, you obviously didn't read the rules."

Toshiko raised her eyebrows dubiously. "'Rules'?"

"First rule of Torchwood Three: don't talk about Torchwood Three. Second rule of Torchwood Three: don't talk about Torchwood Three. Third rule of Torchwood Three: don't bring your trick, wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, hooker, brother, sister, parents, grandparents or clergy to the Hub, because Jack will be inside of them inside of fifteen minutes."

Toshiko made a rude scoffing noise and turned away from Owen's self-satisfied grin. "Ianto? Is there a pot on?"

Ianto poked his head around the corner on the catwalk. "Did you need a refill?"

"Please," Toshiko said, pointedly ignoring Owen. Ianto disappeared into the kitchenette again.

"Don't be an wanker," Gwen told Owen, almost automatically. "... So how do they know each other? It sounded like they worked together. Tosh, did she tell you anything?"

"No," Toshiko replied; she couldn't keep an edge of irritation out of her voice. She hated being lied to, hated being tricked. It was possible, she supposed, that Mary hadn't known Jack was with Torchwood, but it seemed slim.

"Don't think they did a lot of talking--" Owen interjected. The two women ignored him.

"There's no record of a 'Mary Bristow' in the Torchwood records," Toshiko continued, tapping at her keyboard. Ianto reappeared carrying a tray with a carafe of steaming-hot coffee, sugar and milk.

He refilled the trio of mugs, filling Owen's only halfway to leave room for the milk he liked. "'Non-essential assets' sounds like an intelligence term. Perhaps military, though she doesn't seem the type," Ianto mused.

"What, like MI6?" Owen said in a skeptical tone.

Ianto's expression remained mild and serious as he leaned against a support pillar. "How much do _you_ know about the captain's background?" Owen shrugged helplessly. To be perfectly honest, at least to himself, he didn't even know why Jack was a captain, though he doubted anyone else did either.

"Military intelligence seems possible," Gwen replied. "But the only record of a 'Jack Harkness' on file dates to the 1941." Gwen chose her words carefully. She was alone among the team in knowing Jack's secret: that a point-blank gunshot to the forehead barely slowed him down; that the American volunteer on record during WWII was probably the Jack sitting right now in his office; that he couldn't die, ever.

Toshiko sipped from her fresh mug. "They're both a bit young. And Jack's been with Torchwood for years, according the information I've found."

"Could just be a uniform fetish," Owen muttered, leaning forward to peer towards the office.

"But she's not even here to catch up with Jack," Toshiko pointed out. "She's here because I was planning to formally interview her about an artifact she gave me."

"'Artifact'?" Owen asked, glancing back at Toshiko with interest.

"It's like nothing I've seen before," Toshiko explained, reaching into her bag. Gwen and Ianto curiously leaned closer too. She held up the necklace; the pendant swung back and forth, the fluorescent lighting glinting off the strange shell daggers. "Putting it on creates a localized telepathy effect. The range is limited, only a ten-foot radius or so, but it doesn't seem to be affected by common obstacles, and only when it's around your neck -- I think the clasp may activate it, especially since there's so much neural activity in the neck, compared to your arm or something -- and I really don't think that cord is leather, at least not Earth leather--"

"Wait, wait, wait," Owen interrupted, holding his hands up for her to stop. " _Telepathy?_ "

"Vocabulary problems today?" Gwen teased him. "That's when you can read someone else's mind."

"Yes, thank you, I got _that_."

"It's true," Toshiko insisted. Ianto reached over and pulled the necklace from her hands, examining it. "You can hear what other people are thinking. Surface thoughts, at least; I don't know if it's possible to use it to dig deeper."

"Do you know what it says?" Ianto asked, leaning towards Tosh, studying the half-dozen symbols on the pendant's reverse.

She shook her head. "I thought it was ancient Greek initially -- before I knew it was alien -- but it's definitely not Grecian. The characters don't match any alien alphabet we're familiar with, either."

"Give it here," Owen said, reaching out for it.

"Not on your life!" Toshiko laughed incredulously.

***

Mary's feet were propped up on the corner of Jack's desk as she sipped her coffee. It was surprisingly tasty; plain black coffee was so easy to screw up. "So you actually thought I was here to 'apprehend and deliver' you?"

Jack shrugged with a little smile. "It's not impossible. Besides, we both know how they work -- if _I_ were running that op, I'd send his ex-partner to bring him back too."

"Mm. But what would they do with you when they got you, though? Seems easier to just get rid of the problem." Jack conceded the point with a tilt of his head.

He cupped his mug in his hands, leaning on his forearms. "So _are_ you still doing the Time Agent thing?"

"I'm not sure," Mary confessed. Jack's eyebrows climbed. "I was. No reason to decommission me in the meantime, except -- and here's the big fucking cosmic problem -- I've been here eight months and not a _word_ from them. I've been grounded here for eight fucking months and they haven't said so much as 'where are you?' And my 'strap-on' isn't malfunctioning."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm damn sure. The holo works, screen's fine, buttons all respond -- even the leather's barely scratched. Looks better than yours, in fact," Mary remarked, turning Jack's palm up and running her thumb over the worn leather and buckle of Jack's wrist computer.

"Alright," Jack agreed. "Doesn't explain how you got here in the first place."

"I think you're the one who needs to explain. Why the hell is there a rip in spacetime over Cardiff?"

"Where the hell else would it be?" he replied, bantering with her. Jack sighed and took a sip of his coffee. "So the Rift, then?"

Mary gave a nod. "Spat me out somewhere in Splott, about four feet in the air over some old woman's back garden." Jack couldn't help snerking. "And my ship's on the other side, of course. So I'm stuck here, looking for some way back on my own, no thanks to the Agency."

"Back to your old tricks, then?" Investigate, infiltrate, incapacitate by shagging. It was a ridiculously simple modus operandi, but extremely effective in most situations. If she hurt Tosh, though, there were going to be snags.

"New tricks," Mary replied with a smirk. "Seriously though, this time I got very lucky."

Jack looked at her, suddenly serious. "If I help you out, I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention me."

She shrugged and nodded. It seemed fair; at this point, she'd do damn near anything to get back to the future, as it were. "Like I said, you're old news. As far as my clearance goes, they're not paying attention to you anymore -- don't pout -- but I won't say anything. ... So you've got an idea?"

Jack nodded, a tiny smile curving his lips. "Does the phrase 'tribophysical waveform macrokinetic extrapolator' mean anything to you?"

Mary paused to stare at him. "You've got a pan-dimensional surfboard?"

"I might." Jack smirked. "Picked it up from a renegade Raxacoricofallapatorian with poor nuclear energy policies."

Mary laughed, throwing her head back with mirth. "That brings back memories. Do you remember the time you ended up with that one--"

"--of course, and I swore off hypervodka like I always do--"

"--god, the look on everyone's faces the next morning, it was _precious_." They both erupted anew in peals of laughter that caused the team outside to stop mid-conversation and look towards the office.

Owen broke the silence. "What in the _bloody hell_ are they talking about in there?"

***

Gwen, Toshiko and Owen had assembled on the catwalk around the steel monolith that rose through the ceiling, several stories above. Gwen was cradling the pan-dimensional surfboard; she couldn't help thinking it looked more like the old Casio keyboard she'd played as a teenager. Toshiko wore a guarded frown. She should've known Mary was too good to be true.

"Okay," Jack addressed the group, trotting down the stairs. Following him, Mary fished in her purse. She pulled out a smooth black leather cuff, a little less than three inches wide, and buckled the twin straps around her wrist. "Gwen, Owen, I need you two to get that board online. Make sure it's operational; if there's a problem, we'll run a full diagnostic. Toshiko, I need you to reroute all non-essential power to the monolith without killing us all. Mary, we'll synchronize our computers to amplify the current and cause a wave effect through the Rift, which should get you back home."

Toshiko tapped quickly at her computer, eyes darting over the array of screens as the overhead lights dimmed and the whirr of distant machinery died. The metal column was starting to crackle and emanate a deep hum. Lime-green lights flickered across the front of the black surfboard as Gwen and Owen powered it up, checked the settings and parked it six inches in midair. Jack and Mary, heads together, linked their wrist computers and snapped the protective covers back in place.

"Tosh," Mary said, walking back up the stairs to her station, "it's been great." Toshiko tried not to look hurt; Mary's voice held real warmth, but it was obvious she'd been using her, probably since the day they met. Mary put her hand on Toshiko's back and leaned down for a heated kiss. She couldn't help returning it, her fingers sliding into Mary's blonde hair. Owen's wolf-whistle was stopped before it started by a sharp jab in his ribs from Gwen's elbow.

"Yeah," Toshiko agreed as their lips parted, trying to salvage some dignity out of an ego-wounding experience.

Mary winked roguishly at her. "See you around, gorgeous." She bounded down the stairs as Toshiko smiled to herself, blushing slightly.

"Ready, Harkness?" Mary called.

"Surfboard's ready," Owen replied as Mary stepped on. The board dipped for a moment, before compensating to hover again less than a foot in the air.

Jack nodded. "It's programmed to link up with your computer to receive and lock on coordinates. Ready, Bristow?"

Mary grinned. "Absolutely." She turned and blew a last kiss towards Tosh.

In the dim light, Ianto walked through the cage doors and down the catwalk. The main lighting for the tourism office upstairs had failed and the fax had turned off; he'd locked the door and come down to investigate, gun in hand. Unfortunately, the hundred-or-so stairs had been difficult to negotiate in the dark.

"On my mark, we'll simultaneously activate our current frequency amplifiers. _Now_..."

The hum turned into a roar. With a shudder that seemed to vibrate the entire complex, the monolith crackled and glowed with electricity, arching and throwing off sparks. Mary pressed a button on the computer strapped to her wrist, programming coordinates for the 51st century. Somewhere in the shadows of the ceiling, Myfanwy gave a distressed cry. Mary steadied herself on the surfboard as it rocked as though it were on water. Glancing around one last time at the subterranean Hub, her eyes fell upon Ianto, who was watching from behind Gwen's shoulder with a faintly expectant expression.

"Jones?" Mary managed to get out before, in a blinding flash of light, she vanished with a vicious _crack!_ into the Rift.

***

     GWEN: hey. you alright?

     TOSHIKO: I'm ok

     GWEN: if you need to talk, just say so :)

     TOSHIKO: yeah, you too  
     TOSHIKO: about Morgan or Jack or anything

     GWEN: i'm ok too... I think  
     GWEN: but jack and mary!!  
     GWEN: I can't stop wondering what their big secret is

     TOSHIKO: maybe Ianto was right  
     TOSHIKO: military intel

     GWEN: well, big secret besides her traveling in time

     TOSHIKO: at least she wasn't alien  
     TOSHIKO: I'd just as soon leave those to Jack

     GWEN: LOL  
     GWEN: you busy friday?

     TOSHIKO: just work, but you know how that is

     GWEN: well, if nothing comes up, do you want to head down to the pub after work?  
     GWEN: nice relaxing time, no aliens or owen

     TOSHIKO: yeah  
     TOSHIKO: that'd be nice

Toshiko paused for nearly a minute, her fingers resting on the keys unmoving. Finally, she found the word.

     TOSHIKO: thanks.

She signed off and got up, her monitor fading to black.


End file.
